Coming Soon to Linux Desktops

What's in store when the GNOME Project finally releases GNOME 3, and what will Canonical choose for the new Ubuntu?

Try Them Yourself

GNOME 3 and Unity are not ready for release, but you can get a preview
and see where the projects are at the moment. Because they are
unfinished, they are not recommended for use in a production
environment.

GNOME 3 is easy—just use the package manager to install
gnome-shell.

Once the package and dependencies have been installed, you can
activate it with the command:

gnome-shell --replace

To install Unity, you need to add a Personal Package Archive.
Open a terminal, and enter the command:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:canonical-dx-team/une

Enter your password when prompted, and apt will add the PPA and import the key.

Then, update your software list:

sudo apt-get update

To install Unity, type:

sudo apt-get install unity

Once Unity is installed, the next time you log in, the interface will
default to Ubuntu Netbook Edition. (Ubuntu Desktop Edition still
is available, of course.)

Charles Olsen has been working in IT help-desk and technical
training for more years than he will admit. He is one of the hosts of
mintCast, a podcast by the Linux Mint community for all users of
Linux. You can find mintCast at www.mintcast.org or,
if you must, via iTunes.